State boys soccer: North St. Paul 2, Andover 1

North St. Paul's Justin and Tyler Oliver, two of the leading soccer scorers in Minnesota, were hounded and blanketed by an Andover defense that continually hit the twins with double- and triple-teams on Monday.

The seniors, the Pioneer Press co-players of the year, loved the extra attention.

"I'll be a decoy any day of the week," said Justin Oliver, the Class 2A Mr. Soccer winner this season. "If other teams want to shut us down, that's fine with us. But then they have to contend with others on our team."

Like senior midfielder Adam Hildebrandt, who scored a postseason goal for the third game in a row, and junior midfielder Tyler King, who netted the winner in the 59th minute of the Polars' 2-1 semifinal victory over Andover in the Class 2A boys soccer state tournament.

North St. Paul (19-1-1), making its sixth state tournament appearance, advances to the championship game Thursday at the Metrodome.

"We feast on the attention that the Oliver guys get," said Hildebrandt, who plays on North St. Paul's top hockey line with the twins. "When they choose to shut them down and pack it in on Justin and Tyler, it opens up opportunities for me, (King) and Adolpho (Barrera-Gonzalez). I get that they draw a lot of defensive attention. They're all-state finishers. We like it when we're able to pick things up on the offensive end."

Hildebrandt gave the Polars a tremendous lift when he took a pass from Justin Oliver, moved in from the right side with little defensive resistance and scored in the 49th minute.

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North St. Paul struggled throughout the first half, getting outplayed by the Huskies (15-5-1), who led 1-0 on Ben Nivala's goal in the 16th minute.

The Polars then took the lead in the 59th minute when King lofted a free kick that deflected past Andover goalkeeper Colton Syler.

"The way our team stepped up in support of one another was just amazing," Tyler Oliver said. "It was indescribable, really. I was the worst player on the field today. Justin played phenomenal, (and) Tyler, Adam and Adolpho carried our entire season. With them stepping up, it saved our season."

Senior goalkeeper Tommy Molski played a pivotal role, too, getting credit for four saves make what seemed like many more.

"He made some world-class saves for us," Justin Oliver said.

With one game remaining in a season they hope will have a championship ending, the Polars are confident they will stay grounded in the two-day hiatus before the final.

"This has been a long journey for the 15 seniors on this team," Justin Oliver said. "We've come a long way and been through a lot. We aren't going to quit going hard until we finish this thing out."